Saturday, February 14, 2009

US Airways Flight 1549 was a commercial passenger flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, North Carolina that ditched in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. All 155 on board survived.

While in the flight's initial climb out about two minutes after taking off at 3:25 p.m. EST (20:25 UTC), the Airbus 320 struck a flock of Canada Geese[6] at about 3,000 feet resulting in an immediate loss of thrust from both engines. When the pilots concluded that their airliner would be unable to safely reach any airfield from their altitude and location near the George Washington Bridge, they turned south and headed down the river looking for a place to ditch. After gliding for about eight miles in essentially unpowered flight, the aircrew set the airliner down intact in mid-river at 3:31 pm near the USS Intrepid Museum (Pier 86, North River) in midtown Manhattan. All 150 passengers and 5 aircrew safely evacuated the cabin and were rescued from the partially submerged plane by the crews of nearby commercial and rescue watercraft.

The entire crew of Flight 1549 was later awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. The award citation read, "This emergency ditching and evacuation, with the loss of no lives, is a heroic and unique aviation achievement

The downed US Airways Flight 1549 floating on the Hudson River Incident summary Date January 15, 2009 (2009-01-15) Type Multiple bird strikes, controlled ditching Site Hudson River between New York City near 48th Street and Port Imperial at Weehawken, New Jersey, United States Passengers 150[1] Crew 5 Injuries 78[2] (mostly minor) Fatalities 0 Survivors 155 (all) Aircraft type Airbus A320-214 Operator US Airways Tail number N106US

While in the flight's initial climb out about two minutes after taking off at 3:25 p.m. EST (20:25 UTC), the Airbus 320 struck a flock of Canada Geese[6] at about 3,000 feet resulting in an immediate loss of thrust from both engines. When the pilots concluded that their airliner would be unable to safely reach any airfield from their altitude and location near the George Washington Bridge, they turned south and headed down the river looking for a place to ditch. After gliding for about eight miles in essentially unpowered flight, the aircrew set the airliner down intact in mid-river at 3:31 pm near the USS Intrepid Museum (Pier 86, North River) in midtown Manhattan. All 150 passengers and 5 aircrew safely evacuated the cabin and were rescued from the partially submerged plane by the crews of nearby commercial and rescue watercraft.

The entire crew of Flight 1549 was later awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. The award citation read, "This emergency ditching and evacuation, with the loss of no lives, is a heroic and unique aviation achievement."

The captain was Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, 57, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the Air Force in 1980. He is also a safety expert and a glider pilot. The first officer was Jeffrey B. Skiles, 49.[17][20][21] The flight attendants were Donna Dent,[22] Doreen Welsh, and Sheila Dail.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-214 (US Registry: N106US), powered by two GE Aviation/Snecma-designed CFM56-5B4/P engines manufactured in France and the U.S.[25] One of 74 A320s then in service in the US Airways fleet,[26] it was built by Airbus Industrie with final assembly at its facility at Aéroport de Toulouse-Blagnac in France in June, 1999. Delivered to the carrier on August 2, 1999, the airliner was registered to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest, NA, as owner/lessor[27] with AIG listed as the lead insurer.[28]

The mechanical energy of the two engines is the primary source of routine electrical power and hydraulic pressure for the aircraft flight control systems.[30] The aircraft also has an auxiliary power unit (APU), which can provide backup electrical power for the aircraft, including its electrically powered hydraulic pumps; and a ram air turbine (RAT), a type of wind turbine that can be deployed into the airstream to provide backup hydraulic pressure and electrical power at certain speeds.[30] According to the NTSB, both the APU and the RAT were operating as the plane descended into the Hudson, although it was not clear whether the RAT had been deployed manually or automatically.[30]

The Airbus A320 also has a "ditching" button that closes valves and openings underneath the aircraft including the outflow valve, the air inlet for the emergency Ram Air Turbine, avionics inlet, extract valve and flow control valve. It is meant to slow flooding in a water landing.[31] The flight crew did not activate the "ditch switch" during the incident

At 3:27:36,[34] using the call sign "Cactus 1539 [sic]",[36][37] the flight radioed air traffic controllers at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON)[38] "Hit birds. We lost thrust in both engines. Returning back towards LaGuardia." Passengers and cabin crew later reported hearing "very loud bangs" in both engines and seeing flaming exhaust, then silence from the engines and the odor of unburned fuel in the cabin.[8][39][40] Responding to the captain's report of a bird strike, controllers gave Sullenberger a heading to return to LaGuardia and told him that he could land to the southeast on Runway 13 (heading 135.5°).[38] Sullenberger responded that he was unable.[38] Unofficial radar returns show that the flight reached at most 3,200 feet (980 m) before beginning its descent.

FlightpathSullenberger asked if they could attempt an emergency landing in New Jersey, mentioning Teterboro Airport (Bergen County, New Jersey) as a possibility;[41][38][42] air traffic controllers quickly contacted Teterbero and gained permission for a landing on runway 1.[41] However, Sullenberger told controllers that "We can't do it",[33] and that "We're gonna be in the Hudson," making clear his intention to bring the plane down on the Hudson River due to a lack of altitude.[43] Air traffic control at LaGuardia reported seeing the aircraft pass less than 900 feet (270 m) above the George Washington Bridge.[44] About 90 seconds before touchdown, the captain announced, "Brace for impact,"[44] and the flight attendants instructed the passengers, via the PA system, how to brace themselves and keep their heads down.[45]

The plane ended its six-minute flight at 3:31 pm with an unpowered ditching while heading south at about 150 miles per hour (130 kn; 240 km/h) in the middle of the North River section of the Hudson River roughly abeam 50th Street (near the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum) in Manhattan and Port Imperial in Weehawken, New Jersey. The pilot in command said in an interview on CBS television that his training was to choose a ditching location near operating boats so as to maximize the chance of rescue. The location was near three boat terminals: two used by ferry operator NY Waterway on either side of the Hudson River and a third used by tour boat operator Circle Line.[13][46] The ditching location was approximately 40°46′10″N 74°00′17″W﻿ / ﻿40.769498°N 74.004636°W﻿ / 40.769498; 74.004636Coordinates: 40°46′10″N 74°00′17″W﻿ / ﻿40.769498°N 74.004636°W﻿ / 40.769498; 74.004636.[47] After coming to a stop in the river, the plane began drifting southward with the current.[48]

Immediately after the plane came to a stop, the captain issued the order to evacuate and the three flight attendants began evacuating the passengers through the four emergency window exits over the wings and into the inflatable, floating slides deployed from the two front passenger doors. Two flight attendants were in the front, one in the rear. Each flight attendant in the front opened a door and inflated a slide. One rear door was opened by a panicked passenger, causing the aircraft to fill more quickly with water. The flight attendant in the rear attempted to close the rear door, but was not successful, she told CBS News.[51] She also urged passengers to move forward by climbing over seats to escape the rising water within the cabin. One passenger was in a wheelchair. After the plane had been evacuated, the captain twice walked the length of the cabin to confirm that no one remained inside before becoming the last person to leave his plane.Evacuees, some wearing life-vests, waited for rescue on the partly submerged slides, knee-deep in icy river water. Others stood on the wings or, fearing an explosion, swam away from the plane.

The FDNY sent four marine units and rescue divers.[60] On land, FDNY declared a level III (All Hands) emergency and mobilized their Major Emergency Response, Logistical Support Units and had 35 ambulances ready for patients coming off the flight.[61][62] About 140 FDNY firefighters responded to docks near the crash.[60] The NYPD sent squad cars, helicopters, vessels, and rescue divers from the Aviation Unit and Harbor Unit.

The downed plane being recovered from the Hudson River during the night of January 17.At 4:55 p.m. (21:55 UTC) fire crews began to stand down. At 5:07 p.m. (22:07 UTC), Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, issued an official statement during a press conference in Tempe, Arizona, in which he confirmed that the flight had been involved in an accident.[70]

The flight crew, particularly Captain Sullenberger, were widely praised for their actions during the incident including by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor David Paterson who opined, "We had a 'Miracle on 34th Street.' I believe now we have had a 'Miracle on the Hudson'."[66][71][72][73] Outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush said he was "inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew," and he also praised the emergency responders and volunteers.[74] Then President-elect Barack Obama said that everyone was proud of Sullenberger's "heroic and graceful job in landing the damaged aircraft," and thanked the plane's crew (which he invited to attend his inauguration as President in Washington, D.C., five days later) and those on the scene in New York who helped ensure the safety of all 155 people aboard.[75] [76]

Following the rescue, the plane remained afloat though partially submerged, and was quickly moored to a pier near the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, roughly 4 miles (6 km) downstream from where it had ditched.[45] The left engine had detached from the plane during the ditching and was recovered several days later from the river bottom, 65 feet (20 m) below the surface.[77] The right engine was initially thought to have detached, but was later found to be still attached to the aircraft although much of its nacelle was missing.[78] On January 17, the aircraft, which was written off,[79] was removed from the Hudson River and placed on a barge.[33][80][81] The aircraft was then moved to New Jersey for examination.[82]

[edit] Accident investigationShortly after the event, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said that the plane may have been hit by birds.[83] A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Go Team (typically comprising specialists in fields relating to the incident), led by Senior Air Safety Investigator Robert Benzon, was dispatched to New York.[84] The preliminary report of the incident, published on January 16, states that the aircraft went down following a bird strike.[85] This conclusion, and the simultaneous loss of thrust in both engines, was confirmed by preliminary analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder which were both recovered from the airframe by the NTSB when it was lifted out of the river on January 18.[50]

The next day, reports surfaced that the same airplane and same flight had experienced a similar but less severe compressor stall on January 13. During that flight, passengers were told they might have to make an emergency landing.[86][87] However, the affected engine was restarted and the flight continued to Charlotte. The NTSB later reported that this engine surge had been caused by a faulty temperature sensor, which was replaced, and that the engine was undamaged by the event, which allowed the plane to return to service.[88]

Feather found in left (#1) engineOn January 21, the NTSB noted that organic debris, including a single feather, as well as evidence of soft-body damage, was found in the right engine.[89][90] The left engine was recovered from the river on January 23 and, like the right engine, was missing a large portion of its housing.[91] On initial examination the NTSB reported that while missing obvious organic matter, it too had evidence of soft body impact, and "had dents on both the spinner and inlet lip of the engine cowling. Five booster inlet guide vanes are fractured and eight outlet guide vanes are missing." Both engines were to be sent to the manufacturer's Cincinnati facility for teardown and examination.[92] On January 31, the plane was moved to a secure storage facility in Kearny, New Jersey, for the remainder of the investigation. The NTSB confirmed that bird remains had been found in both engines,[88][93] and through DNA testing were later identified as Canada Geese (Branta canadensis). The typical weight of these birds is well above the threshold the engines were designed to withstand on impact.

Flight 1549 is the fifth take-off/departure phase accident involving a commercial air carrier at LaGuardia since the field opened in 1939 which resulted in the write off of the accident aircraft.[96] Of those, it is also the third involving the hull loss of a US Airways/USAir plane.